November 28, 2024

Kathlyn Phan

12th Grade

Fountain Valley High School 

With the rapidly growing threat of climate change, scientists and engineers are innovating solutions to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon capture technology aims to trap carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial processes and prevent them from raising atmospheric heat. This new environmentally friendly technology has promising potential to reduce global warming and restore air quality. But how exactly does this Earth-saving technology work? And how does math play an important role in its success?

Carbon Capture Technology was developed by a professor at Columbia University, Klaus S. Lackner. While studying at the Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Lackner built an innovative air extraction device that works by absorbing carbon dioxide molecules from the air, efficiently filtering out atmospheric carbon. It works by attracting and binding CO₂ molecules to the specialized materials within the machine to separate the gases. This technology could immensely reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industrial power plants, factories, and other operations by separating carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. By capturing the carbon dioxide, Lackner’s device successfully intercepts greenhouse gas emissions before they reach the atmosphere, thus reducing climate change. 

Carbon dioxide is a main contributing factor to climate change because it absorbs and radiates heat from the Earth’s surface. In 2010, carbon dioxide emissions reached an overwhelming 32 Gigatonnes. By trapping heat in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide emits the heat back on Earth, raising the global temperature. This creates the greenhouse effect where the excess carbon dioxide changes our climate, causes ocean acidification, raises sea levels, and disrupts the planet’s ecosystem. 

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) relocates the captured carbon dioxide gas deep underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Once the gas is stored in the device, it will be compressed before transport, via ship or pipelines, to optimize efficiency. By releasing it underground, carbon dioxide can be safely stored in deep geological formations. These include gas fields and saline aquifers. By being trapped under impermeable layers of rock, carbon dioxide can effectively be kept safe for long periods of time underground, slowing down climate change.

Although this carbon capture process seems straightforward, there is a significant amount of calculations and complex science behind its technology. Through mathematical calculations, scientists and engineers can accurately predict the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered. Carbon dioxide sequestration is the process by which carbon is captured and stored. By measuring its sequestration, scientists can calculate the atomic weight of carbon dioxide and determine the weight of carbon dioxide stored in its device to optimize capacity. 

Scientists also use mathematical models to estimate and minimize costs for carbon dioxide capture and storage. By using a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization model, they can minimize the initial estimated costs of their carbon capture technology. This model contains 335,224 equations and 3,215,998 variables that compute the costs of capital and operating expenditures. These include storage costs based on carbon dioxide sequestration and transportation costs for trucks and ships. These complex models can also be used for modeling the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by industries and power plants. 86 sites are considered in the model which includes 48 heat and power plants, 29 pulp and paper mills, three refineries, three iron and steel mills, two cement plants, and one chemical plant. By visualizing the environmental impact of these plants’ greenhouse gas emissions, they are able to target high CO₂ emission sites.

For carbon dioxide transportation, engineers have to rely on algorithms to determine the safest and most efficient route. Since they use pipelines to transfer carbon dioxide, they must take into account pipeline pressure, temperature, terrain, and potential dangers. With mathematical models, they can accurately predict how the carbon dioxide will react under varying conditions, ensuring maximum durability and no gas leakages.

Carbon capture technology is a step forward in combating climate change and creating a cleaner, more sustainable world. This technology fights to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and safely relocate it underground, preventing it from harming the atmosphere. Advancements in carbon capture technology and mathematical tools will continue healing our environment and benefiting humans with better air quality. Climate change is a life-threatening and rapidly growing issue with the immense burning of fossil fuels. However, carbon capture technology demonstrates how mathematics and science can be a powerful tool against climate change.